Carpet tile



Jan. 22, 1963 J. c. GORDON 3,074,835

CARPET TILE Filed June 9. 1958 l la 1NVENTR.

United States Patent C) 3,074,835 CARPET TILE Jack C. Gordon, Detroit,Mich., assignor to Gordon- Chapman Company, Detroit, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Filed June 9, 1958, Ser. No. 740,741 1 Claim.(Cl. 154-49) This invention pertains to an improved method of makingcarpet tiles and to improved articles made thereby.

Many desirable decorative effects can be obtained by the use of smallpieces of carpet having cut edges without selvages or bindings thereon,and such pieces have heretofore been commercially available. However,they have not found ready acceptance in the market primarily because ithas heretofore not been practicable to trim the edges of the carpetpieces satisfactorily and to bind the carpet pile at the edges tominimize its tendency to ravel and to become frayed. Also, when thecarpet pieces are backed up by a cushioning material such as foam rubberor an elastomeric plastic in the customary manner, the commerciallyavailable cushioning material is found to be of varying thickness sothat the edges of abutting pieces of carpet do not meet properly andaccurately to form a smooth surface.

These problems are effectively overcome in the practice of the presentinvention, one important object of which is to overcome thedisadvantages of previous carpet tiles and to provide an improved carpettile having smooth, ravel-free edges of uniform thickness.

Another object is to provide an improved method of making carpet tilesbacked with a fusible cushioning material and having stabilized edgeswhich do not tend to ravel, fray or to become ragged in appearance.

Another object is to provide an improved method of cutting carpet tilesfrom large pieces of carpet including the step of impregnating aresilient bonding material into the carpet pile along the edges of thetiles so that the pile will not tend to ravel or fray, but will beeffectivelyA locked in place.

Another object is to provide an improved method of cutting carpet tilesfrom large pieces of carpet having resilient cushioning material securedto its reverse surface including the step of crush-cutting the tilesunder heat so that the resilient cushioning material is permanentlyreduced to a controlled minimum thickness along the edges of the tileswhereby all of the edges of all of the tiles produced under likeconditions will be substantially uniform in thickness.

These and other objects are achieved in the practice of the presentinvention according to one embodiment of which a carpet tile is cut froma large piece of carpet having a cushioning material bonded to thereverse surface thereof by first pressing and heating the carpet along aline defining the carpet tile outline, thereby fusing the cushioningmaterial and squeezing it upwardly so that it flows into and impregnatcsthe pile of the carpet along the edges of the tile, thus resilientlybonding the pile in place. After the completion of this step, the tileis cut out from the piece of carpet along the outline line by pressure,or crush-cutting, and the cushioning material along the tile edges isreduced to a standard minimum thickness so that the edges of theindividual tiles are of substantially uniform thickness throughout. Themanufacture of carpet tiles according to the method of the presentinvention is rapid and efficient, and the method is readily adaptable tothe production of various novelty effects in the carpet tiles themselvessuch as, for example, carved or sheared effects.

The invention will now be described in greater detail in connection withthe accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a die assembly as usedin the manufacture of carpet tiles according to the present invention,showing the die assembly in its open, or retracted position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the die assembly shown inFIG. 1 illustrating the first pressure step in the method of theinvention and showing the die assembly in a first operative position;

v FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, partly diagrammatic view of the die assemblyshown in FIG. l, illustrating the die in its fully closed, or cut-offposition;

FIG. 4 is a partly schematic, cross-sectional view of a carpet tileaccording to the invention illustrating the arrangement of thecushioning, adhesive, and backing layers secured to the tile;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a carpet tile according to theinvention illustrating a carved effect, which is one of the decorativeeffects obtainable in the practice of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary View of a portion of the carpet tileshown in FIG. 5, taken generally along the section line 6-6 thereof.

As hereinabove noted, one of the marketing problems with carpet tiles,or squares heretofore commercially available was the tendency of thecarpet pile to become ragged, and to fray or unravel along the edges ofthe individual tiles, producing an unsatisfactory appearance after arelatively short service life. This effect was aggravated by the lack ofuniformity in carpet thickness along the edges, so that when several ofthe carpet tiles were juxtaposed upon a surface such as floor, wall, orstair tread, the difference in thickness would produce a slight step,which would tend to catch a shoe or other article moving across thesurface, and thereby loosen the thicker tile along its edge, and cause afurther deterioration in the appearance and surface of the carpet tiles.The variation in thickness, it has now been found, has been due largelyto variations in the thickness of the cushioning material such as sheetfoam rubber, which is ordinarily secured to the reverse surface of thecarpet tiles, and which appears not to be commercially available insheets of accurately controlled, uniform thickness. One importantadvantage of the practice of the present invention is the achievement ofa uniform thickness along the edges of the carpet tiles, so that theabutting edges of juxtaposed tiles present a smooth and uniformappearance. v

In the illustrated form of the invention, a carpet tile 8 is formed froma laminated carpet structure 10 including a carpet material 11, which asshown is of the type having a relatively lightweight and flexible canvasbacking 12 and a looped pile 14. A foam rubber or similar cushioningmaterial 16 is adhesively secured to the reverse surface of the backing12 to increase the resilience of the carpet. The cushioning material 16is preferably bonded to and reinforced by a thin muslin sheet 18 or thelike to strengthen the cushioning material against lateral displacement.

A large piece of the carpet structure 10 having rubber cushioningmaterial 16 secured to its reverse surface is laid upon a flat table oranvil 24 beneath a die assembly 26, which is then actuated according tothe invention to cut out the carpet tiles 8. The die assembly 26includes a holder, or base member 28, upon which are mounted a pluralityof downwardly facing die members 30 and 32, and which includes meanssuch as the electrical heating elements 34 illustrated for controllablyheating the die members 30 and 32.

The die members 30 and 32 are arranged according to the outline of thecarpet tiles to be cut from the large piece of carpet, and according tothe pattern, such as the carved effect pattern illustrated in FIG. 5, tobe formed" thereon. Selected ones 30 of the l.die members are arrangedto crush-cut thel carpet, and, therefore, are.

arranged in the form of an enclosed pattern of square, rectangular,triangular, circular, or other shape as desired to define the loutlineof the carpet tiles to be produced. The other die members 32 define thepattern to be impressed upon. the carpet tiles, within the outlinesthereof, and are shorter in height than the rst die members 30, sincethey do not crush-cut the carpet during operation of the die. Thecutting die members 3ft)Y are shaped in cross section as illustrated andhave an upper, trapezoidally shaped portion 36 secured to the base 28,and a squared nose portion 3S. Preferably,` the bottom edge of the upperportion 36. is somewhat wider than the nose portion 38 in order toprovide downwardly facing shouldersv 39. for engaging the carpet pile14, and compressing a narrow portion thereof along the margins of thetile as described in greater :detail hereinafter. The pattern formingdie. members 32 may be generally similar in cross-sectional shape to,but shorter than the cutting die members 3i?. In most cases, however,the shoulders 39 may be omitted from :the pattern forming die members 32unless they are desired for special pattern effects.

In operation, the die assembly 26 is heated to a temperature above themelting point of the cushioning layer 16, and when the carpet structureispositioned, upon. the table 24, the die assembly is lowered andpressed upon the carpet as illustrated in FIG. 2. The die members 30 and32 compress the carpet and the cushioning material upon the table 24,heating the cushioning material .16 locally to a temperature above itsmelting point so that it melts. and flows upwardly into and impregnatesthe portions of the pile 11i adjacent to the die members 30 and 32.v Theshoulders 39 of the cut-out die members 30 compress a narrow marginalportion of the pile relatively rtightly, and the upperV portions 36force the pile loops immediately adjacent to the compressed marginalportions into an angular, or bevelled position. Capillary attraction andthe die pressure both contribute to the ow of the melted cushioningmaterial into the carpet pile.

The decorative design forming die members 32 are also similarlyv shapedto the die members 3ilin vertical section, except that they are notquite so long and do not extend quite so deeply down into the carpeting.Nevertheless, they exert a compressive force upon the carpet 10 and uponthe. cushioning material 16, locally melting the cushioning materialandl forcing it upwardly into the pile 14- immediately beneath and alongboth sides of the die members 32 to impregnate the pile, so that laterwhen the heat is removed and the cushioning material 16 allowed tosolidify, the impregnated pile willk be resiliently locked in place,thereby formingl fa textured design in the carpet tile.

After a period of a few seconds, as required for the cushioning material16 to melt and to infuse into the desired portions of the pile 14 andbefore it flows into other portions of the pile, :the die assembly 26 isadvanced further downwardly with a relatively great force, which issuiiicient to cause the cut-out die members 30 to crushcut the carpetstructure l0, and thus to complete the tile 8; During the cuttingstroke, the shoulders 39 of the upper die portion 36 engage narrow edgeportions of the carpetstructure and reduce themto a predetermineduniform thickness. Thereupon, the die assembly 26 is immediatelyretracted, and the carpet tile 8 is. removed from lthe table 24 andprepared for shipment.

As many tiles as the size and shape of the die assembly 26 will permitmay be cut simultaneously. The over-all height of the cut-out diemembers30 is preferably at least equal to the total thickness of the laminatedcarpet structure 10 in order toavoid crushing or compacting of the pile`14, during the forming process, except, of course, along the edgesof thetile and in the crushed, decoratively molded portions thereof. Thisconstruction also 4- minimizes` the possibility of' melting portions ofthe cushioning material 16 extending between the die members 3i) and 32,and insures that these portions will remain resilient and substantiallyunaffected.

Immediately upon release ofthe die assembly 26, the materiall -of thecushioning layer 16, which has infused itself into and impregnated thepile 14 along the edges and in the formed portions of the tile, freezesand resiliently bonds the impregnated pile in place so that it does nottend to fray or tov` become ragged. or ravel. The taper of the upperportions 36 of the die members 36 is preferably made relatively gradual,and as near to the vertical line as possible to minimize the spreadingeffectof the `die members upon the carpet pile 14, and to avoid anexcessively flat bevel along the edges of the tile 8, but the taper mustbe sufficient so that the die members 30 and 32 will draw down ythe pileand hold it in place firmlyy and securely during the impregnationthereof by the cushioning material 16.

When it -is prepared for shipment or sale, an adhesive is preferablyapplied to the bottom of the tile 8 so that the tile will adhere to asurface such asY avoor or' Wallupon which it is placed. The adhesive,indicated at 40` (FIG. 4), may be of the pressure sensitive, rubberbased type, in which case the reinforcing sheet 1S is preferably sealedby the application yof a suitable sealer to prevent the adhesive solventfrom penetrating into the cushioning material and softening it. Arelease sheet 42 is preferably placed upon the adhesive to enable thetiles to be stacked Without sticking to each other. These variations'areconventional and form no part of the present invention. They arementioned herein, however, because the practice of the invention alsocontemplates cutting out carpet tilesl from carpet that has beenpreviously prepared for shipment in this manner. The presence of theadhesive 40 andthe release sheet '42 will not alfectthe operation of thedie members 3b land 32 in the practice of the invention.

The impregnation of the edge portions of the pile 14 with a resilientbonding material in liquid form, which is solidified in situ while theedge portions are held in a desired position conforming to a desiredconfiguration enables theeiicient production ofV improved -carpet tiles,substantially completely overcoming the disadvantages of previous carpettiles. Narrow edge portions 41 of the tiles 8 are densely compacted, andthus reduced to a substantially uniform thickness by the action of theshoulders 39 of the cut-out die members so that the abutting edges oftiles laid side by side on a surface forma smooth and even line ofjuncture without unevenness or mismatching portions. The cushioningmaterial that has impregnated into the sloping or beveled `edge portions43 and has solidified therein effectively locks the carpet pile inplace, rigidifying it slightly so that it does not ravel, fray `or tendto become ragged in appearance. Similarly, in the curved portions 45,the pile loops are impregnated and locked in place by the cushioningmaterial, forming a carpet tile 8 of improved appearance, usefulness,and durability.

What is claimed is:

A generally planar laminar carpet tile comprising a piece of fusibleresilient sheet cushioning materiall of predetermined shape, a piece ofcarpet having an upstanding pile of similar shape superimposed upon andbondedl to said cushioning material, the pile at the edge portions ofsaidcarpet being impregnated with fused: edge portions of saidcushioning material so as to preclude fraying of the carpet pile alongthe edges of said tile, the pile of said carpet extending angularlyupwardly, and inwardly relative to the plane of said carpet tile and retained in the angularly upwardly and inwardly extending condition bysaid fused edge portions of the cushioning material, a relatively narrowportion `of said cushioning material extending around the edges of saidtile being of a substantially uniform predetermined tl'iickness lessthan the thickness of other portions of said cushioning mate- 5 rial tofacilitate placement of said tile in edge to edge relationship with asimilar tile.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 51,352,383 Riley Sept. 7, 1920 1,869,550 Dorogi Aug. 2, 1932 1,947,152Clark Feb. 13, 1934 2,016,876 stomnberg oct. s, 1935 10 6 Robinson May17, 1938 Roth et al Oct. 8, 1940 Todd Sept. 22, 1942 Cunuington June 22,1943 Untiedt Jan. 13, 1948 Lang et al Sept. 12, 1950 Lewis Sept. 18,1951 Alderfer Feb. 22, 1955 Bird July 10, 1956 Goldstone Sept. 13, 1960

